01.05.11
Don’t Answer When They Call You This!
There’s something N*E*W going on at YourShiningExample.com
My cat’s name is MAESTRO. If someone isn’t a classical music fan, they probably haven’t heard the word. And mostly no one has seen it spelled. But when you say it correctly it sounds kind of like it was derived from “mice.” Get it?
What a clever name. It’s perfect, meaningful. And—at the vet’s office—very very ineffective.
We sit amid the huddled masses trying to calm each other down. The receptionist calls out, “May-ES-tro?” (I never know whether their voice is rising because they’re wondering if we’re here at our appointment, or if they’ve said the name right.)
Usually we don’t answer because neither my cat nor I have ever heard of “May-ES-tro?” We didn’t realize the call was for us. We were only listening for a specific thing, focused on a specific goal. We wanted to hear what we wanted to hear.
And so everything else was muffled.
That’s the way we—me, my cat, and you and everyone—functions on an average day. We’re focused on goals. We’re specific. If something lies outside our range of attention, we may miss it.
UNLESS it’s something HUMOR-induced and capable of whipping us out of our cyclone of daily tasks.
UNLESS it’s something HUMOR-induced that creates a lighter load for the listener.
UNLESS it’s something HUMOR-induced that will remind us or our humanity and bring us back into connection with others rather than with tasks.
What do you hear when someone calls YOUR name today? How funny is that?
